A journey from over-abundance to simplicity. A hoarder shares some secrets of this misunderstood disease, with a visual guide along the way.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Reader, I went to Target

and I brought the kids.

It had been a few months since I went there. My list was the curious mix that Target is well-suited for. I'd been reading a lot of negative stories over at The Consumerist and didn't really want to go there. But I wanted to go to Fred Meyer or Wal-Mart even less.

It was a den of temptation. From all sides, products beckoned. And then we visited the school supplies section. Mecca and nirvana all in one. Pens, paper, pads, pencils, Post-It notes. All at reasonable prices. It took work to restrain myself. Heck, we weren't even there for school supplies--the kids' school hasn't sent a list!

It is a two-story Target and we had to visit both floors.

Here's what we bought. The list is from memory. That tells you something. The total came to about $56 and I had a couple dollars' worth of coupons. We got a lot, everything on the list with a couple of extras (the Bic pens, but I had a $1 off two coupon, final price about $.70 for both packs with the tax)